Juan Manuel Cerundolo has found an opponent and a setting that bring out his most stubborn tennis. For the second consecutive year, the Argentine defeated Casper Ruud in the quarterfinals of the Swiss Open, rallying for a 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 victory in two hours and 15 minutes.
Cerundolo appeared headed for defeat after dropping the opening set and falling behind 4-2 in the second. Ruud, a two-time Gstaad champion and one of the most accomplished clay-court players of his generation, controlled the early exchanges and repeatedly pushed the Argentine behind the baseline.
The match changed when Cerundolo recovered the break and began extending the rallies. He gradually turned the contest into the physical clay-court battle he wanted, forcing Ruud to play additional shots and creating more opportunities to attack with his heavy left-handed forehand.
After taking the second set 7-5, Cerundolo carried the momentum into the decider. His patient point construction increasingly troubled Ruud, who could not regain the authority he had shown during the opening hour. Cerundolo pulled away in the final set to complete another memorable comeback and improve to 2-0 against the Norwegian.
“I put all my energy into trying to feel my best,” Cerundolo said afterward. “He was beating me well. He was doing better and a break up with the wind in his favor. He made maybe two mistakes so that I could come back in the second set.” The result was almost a replay of their meeting at the same tournament one year earlier.
In the 2025 quarterfinals, Cerundolo recovered from a 3-0 deficit in the deciding set and won six consecutive games to defeat Ruud 6-2, 1-6, 6-3. That victory ended Ruud’s unbeaten record in Gstaad and sent Cerundolo toward the final, where he eventually lost to Alexander Bublik in three sets.
A year later, Ruud returned as one of the favorites to win the title, only to encounter the same opponent, in the same round, with nearly the same result. Cerundolo arrived in Gstaad ranked No. 45 but again demonstrated why his ranking does not fully reflect the danger he presents on clay. His high-bouncing forehand creates uncomfortable contact points, while his willingness to defend deep behind the baseline can wear down even established clay-court players.
The Argentine has also developed a reputation for escaping matches that appear to be slipping away. Earlier this season at Roland Garros, he came back from two sets and two breaks down to defeat then-world No. 1 Jannik Sinner. Cerundolo is now the only player to have defeated Ruud at the Swiss tournament. Both victories came after the Norwegian had taken control of the match, adding another layer to one of the tour’s more unusual matchup patterns.
His attempt to reach a second consecutive Gstaad final ended in the next round, where Belgium’s Raphael Collignon edged him 7-6(5), 1-6, 7-5. The semifinal defeat ended Cerundolo’s week, but it did little to diminish another result that confirmed one certainty in the Swiss Alps: when Ruud sees Cerundolo across the net in Gstaad, trouble usually follows.
